Footwear



Sept. V25, 1928.

Filed Jan. 2o, 192s f 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented Sept. 25, 1928.

' [UNITED STATES rarmrorrics.

eEoEeET. DIKE, oE'VEEooKLINE, :MasSilent:sETTs.l

FOOTWEAR.

Application med January 2o, 1923. serial No. 613,801. y

This. invention relates to footwear andk especially, although not exclusively, tofover?.

shoes of the type known as arctics.

The invention has for its object the provision of an overshoe orother foot covering having an upper adapted' to be held .sufiiciently closely about the ankle and leg yof the wearer to presentv a neat and trim appearance and to exclude snow, dirt and moisture, but in which the usual troublesome clasps for securing the upperin place are eliminated, enabling the shoe to be puton or taken off as readily as. a so-called Russian boot having a loose leg and ankle portion.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention, together with means whereby the same may be carried' into effect, will best be understood from the 'following descriptionfof certain forms or'embodiments there'-l of illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It will be understood, however, that the particular constructions described and shown have been chosen for illustrative purposes merely and thatV the invention, as defined bythe claims hereunto appended, may be otherwise practisedwithoutl departure from itsspirit and Scope. 1

Insa'id drawings-Hm"V Y Fig. 1 is a sideelevation of a high overshoe'or arctic constructed in accordance with the invention. .l

Fig. 2` is a fron elevation of av slightly modified-` construction, :the vupper being closed or the position* assumed thereby whenthe overshoel is being worn. ":Fig. 3 is a perspectivey view of the upper portion of the' overshoe; shown inffFig. 2, the upperfbeing.openedv inorder to permit the overshoe'to loeT put onortaken o.y

Fig. 4L- is a plan view ofthe'` top 'of the overshoejwithl the upper closed. Y

Fig. 5 is a'detail` view ofthe.clasp"'used in connectionv v with 'the' -overshoes f above referred to.' jr i f 1 f Figs. Gand 7 are detail viewsfof the spring hinge formingpartf the clasp..

Figs. 8, 9'and 10are views corresponding substantiallyto Figs. 2, 3t and 1l, respectively,

lillustrating another'form of the invention.

The inventionl is herein 4shown as embodied in'an overshoeor arctic' whose sole 12, counter 13 and foxing 111 may. be of any usual construction', as may also the rearportion of the upper 15.. The forward. por',

tions b jandfc of the upper arepermanently connected at their edges to a strip or section a vperfor-ming the function of the usual bel'- lows Y tongue, thereby providing an upper.V

which iscircumferentially closed, but/which,

in use, is folded in oppositeV directions along lines d and el at the connected edges of the tongue a and portions b and o ofthe upper .l ,y

thereover along the line e in the form of al The arrangement isi such that the;

two-ply triangular flap A with thebase of thetiiangle uppermost, so as vto, assume the position shown in Figs. 1 and 4. Theupper ispreferably so cut'` that thev foldl e is in a 'substantially straight diagonal line which extends from the inner sideof the foot kat a point f adjacent the bottomv of the Yovershoe to apoint g at the .outer sideV of theleg adjacent the top of the overshoe. This arrangement permits the several plys or layers ofthe foldedl upper to lie iiat oneuupon the other, the folding of the upper on the -'diag= onal line e causing the closure of the upper at the top to draw, the same over the instep andy about the anklel tightly enoughto ex-v dirt, and moisture, and Vgive a clude snow,

very -neat andl trim appearance, and also assisting the parts in retaining. themselves Q in'their .folded position. by the elimination lof direct,y strains tending. to vopen the same.

vThe strain, being in a substantially4 straight line between the points f and g, yj the edge of the apA straight, and therefore closed.

tends to hold l"Thevupperfabove describedislheld in itsy v closed'V orV foldedv position, Y as shownA in Figs.V 1,` 2 and 4,or' in its;y opengposition, shown'in Fig/3, by means of kafclaspfor clasps; comprising1 circumferentially dis-y posed curved arms 16 and 17secured to the upper by being inserted and the lining thereof, said arms being hingedtog'ether atv their, rear" ends f by a hinge pin 18 and extend-ing atftheir lforbetween4 the body.

`ward ends to points adjacent,- the folds d ande,-'respect'ivelyr Said forward ends of thearms .16 .and 17 overlap,

when-,the clasp is closed as shown in full lines in-Fig. 5, in substantially the same manner as the folds yof the upper when the latter is in the vare included inthe upper at suitable pointsv to hold the latter in place. Thus, in Fig. 1,

closedposition shown in F ig. 4, so that the closing of the clasp results in a` folding of I the upper in the desired Ymanner. ne or more clasps'composedv of varms 16 and 17 one is shown at the top of the upper, while in Figs.,2 and 3, in which is shown an up-y i per slightly higher than that shown in Fig.

1,:an additional clasp is provided between th'eyto'p and the ankle. Each of said clasps isV so yconstructed as to cause the arms v16 andv 17 to be yieldingly'held'in ,either the Y closed position shown inFigs. 1, 2, 4, and 7,

and in full lines in Fig. 5, to hold the upper folded, or in the extended position shown in Figs."3 and 6,1andin dottedlines in Fig. 5, to hold the jupperrfin a distended position to permit the overshoe to be put on or takenl off. Tothis end, in the particular construc` tion shown, one of the arms of each clasp, herein the arm 16, is formed *adjacent the Y. hinge pin 18with a projection 19`coope`rat- Y 4the spring 20 back, and snaps to 'the other 'i tion or the other.f Y

side thereof, thereby .yieldinglyholding the arms in closed position, as shown in Figure 7 and in full lines in Figure 5. The opf posite sides of the rib 21are preferably 'inclined soas to operate with `a cam action upon the projection 19 to force the arms'16 and 17 either'open or closed when moved past the ldead center position in one direc- 'In order to'put the overshoe on, the upper is suitably'graspedto swing apart the arms 16 and 17 'of the two-position clasp and open the upper, which is automatically'held in this position until thel foot has been .in-

il serted., after, which the'` sides are merely cause the #if necessary, butclosing ,when the hand is removed.A Y L ,Y

-fpushed together,causing fthe' clasp to vclose the upper and'hold the same in closed `position against the leg'ofthe wearer with any desired degree ofpress'ure bythe'action of the spring20 through the inclined face of the rib 21 against the projection 19'.` It will be seen that after the upper isfclosed, the handmay'be readily inserted from the top between the lparts a and b and between the parts a' and c to smooth down wrinkles and parts-tov lie flat, the clasp yielding If desired the upper may be so arranged and folded vas toV form, 'when closed, two overlapping two-ply triangular Aliaps in place of the single iap Ay 'shown in Figures 1 and 2. Thus, in the construction shown in FiguresS to 1Q, the portion L is folded over instead of under therktongue portion a, being itself folded along the diagonal line al to form a vtriangular flap A, and the portion c thenl folded along the diagonall linel e and over the portion to form a second triangular flap A2. The two lines of fold d and e, eachA of which extends diagonally from one side of the footat the bottoni to the opposite side of the legfatthe top, cross' one another over the instepyso that when' thev upper is drawn tightly about the leg of the wearer at the top', these parts will be drawn equally tightly overt-he instep and about' the ankle' insubstantially the same manner as the fold Ve offthefsingleV flap A shown, in Figures 1v and 2.1 f It will be understood'that a two-position spring `clasp substantially lsimilar to theY clasp above Vdescribed will ybe employed in. con'-y nection withftheform shown in Figures 8 to 10, and that the freeends lof-the armsl and 17 of saidy clasp will: be vextended substantiallygto the yfolds df and e., respectively, folded.l .i

In the formof the"v invention last ldescribed. the fold e of the outer-flap A2 extends diagonally :from the inner side of the so as `to overlap'whenthe upperV is foot to the outer side of :theleg as is also preferably'the caseewith the fold e of the flap LA shownin 'Figuresvl' and 2, so that the inner sides of both upperslare smooth, and danger of catching the exterior 'folds upon one another when walkingn is eliminated. .t .f f

The overshoe above described: infseveral alternative formsv is not only neater in apy pearance than those usually in l'use due to the absence ofthe Vusual outside fastening devices, but may be put on ortaken oil' with far less time and trouble than any similar deviceheretofore used in which ythe upper is closed tightly enough to exclude., snow, dirt and moisture. Said..fovershoe maybe positesides andpulling them apart, will maintain itself-in open orfdistended posi-` tion sofas to' facilitate the l'introduction of the foot thereinto, and may be asinstantly closed `merely by wiping thei opposite sides with the hands, or with one,handfand the other foot, without the use 'of jthe fingers, the clasps springing; into. closed position and, by their overlapping ends,rfolding.the

upper in the .proper manner andyholdin'g it so folded. The usual separate outside'fas'- -teners are thus entirely eliminated, so that -the labor and loss ofltime required for fastening ,and releasing the same are" avoided,

1'15 instantly opened merely by grasping the opcumferentially closed upper upon itself along a the other clothing of the wearer.

Having thus'described vmy invention, I claim: f

l. An 'article of footwear having a cirdiagonal line extending the bottom of the shoe to the opposite side ofthe from a point near diagonally across leg at the top. Y. y v

2. An article of footwear' including a circumferentially closed upper having an eX- terior lfold along a line extending over the instep from a point near the bottom of the shoe at the inner side thereof diagonally across to the outer side of the leg at the top.

3. An article of footwear including a circumferentially closed upper having an eX- terior fold along a line extending over the instep from a point near the bottom of the shoe at the inner side 'of the foot diagonally Y across to the outer side of the leg at the top, and a circumferentially' disposed hinged clasp for holdingy said upper in folded condition. v

4. An article of footwear having an upvper and a two-position circumferentially which is folded disposed spring clasp associated and adapted to hold the same in either a distended or a closedl position, saidclasp comprising hinged arms having their free ends overlapping when said clasp is closed.

therewith 5. An article of footwear having a circumferentially closed upper which is folded upon itself twice, and a two-position spring edto hold the same in a distended position or in a folded position about the leg of the wearer, said clasp having portions engaging said upper adjacent the respective Afolds and overlapping one another to correspond to theoverlapping of said folds. o

" 6. An article of footwear having a circumferentially closed upper which is folded u upon itself along a line extending from a point near the bottom of the shoe on one clasp associated with said upper and adaptside ofthefoot diagonally across to thelopi posite n side of the position spring clasp associated with said upper. and adapted to hold the Same in a distended position or 1n said folded posir tion.

leg at the top7 and a two- In testimony whereof I affix signature'.v

GEORGE r. DIK-E. 

